The prevention and control of juvenile delinquency and violence lie at the heart of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) SafeFutures initiative. The initiative joins what we have learned from research about risk and protective factors with what we now know from experience about promising approaches to preventing and controlling delinquency, resulting in a continuum of care that responds to the needs of youth at critical stages in their development. As such, it embodies the principles of OJJDP’s Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders.

This Summary describes the lessons learned over the initial 3 years of the initiative’s implementation in pilot sites in Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap Indian Community, MT; Imperial County, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO. The services that each site provides vary considerably, making the Summary a valuable information resource for professionals working in urban, rural, and tribal settings.

I am proud of the accomplishments of the SafeFutures initiative and hope that the experiences of these sites will help us improve our efforts to prevent and control juvenile delinquency and victimization.

Comprehensive Responses to Youth At Risk: Interim Findings From the SafeFutures Initiative

OJJDP Summary • November 2000